Acorn Childcare to take on two council nurseries
Catherine Gaunt
Friday, July 6, 2012
Acorn Childcare has won the contract to take on two council nurseries and set up a not-for-profit company to run them.
The group's eight existing settings, based in Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire, are in the process of transferring from private ownership to the new company, which has charitable status.
The nursery group now offers around 450 childcare places at ten nurseries.
Managing director Zoe Raven told Nursery World, 'I feel we sit more comfortably in a not-for-profit company. Childcare shouldn't be about making money to satisfy shareholders. We've always been an "unofficial" not-for-profit company and ploughed money back into the business. We have four owners and we all agree that it's better to sustain the business.'
She added that she thought it would also appeal to parents. 'If there is a fee increase, they will know that the money is being put back into the business.'
The two new nurseries in Milton Keynes were previously run by the council as standalone settings. Acorn at Westcroft is in a shopping centre and has 64 places and Acorn at Kents Hill has 56 places and is based on the outskirts of the town.
The expansion has been financed with working capital and existing cashflow, with the nursery group able to negotiate good rental rates with the landlord, Milton Keynes Community Property Foundation.
Acorn has taken on the TUPE obligations of the current permanent staff at the settings.
With the future of the two nurseries uncertain, occupancy had dropped below 50 per cent, because the nurseries had stopped taking on new children.
Ms Raven said, 'We've got to go in with a lot of publicity. There is a lot of potential because there is demand. I'm confident that we will fill up fairly quickly.'
Both nurseries have already seen changes with two newly-appointed nursery chefs at each site. They used to buy in meals.
Acorn has also introduced Forest School sessions at both settings, with children from the Westcroft nursery just five minutes away from the wood where the sessions are held.
Milton Keynes Council has also awarded the contract to run its two other remaining council nurseries to Kids Play, which also operate out-of-school clubs in the area.
